Saturday, July 21, 2012

i've talked before about how there is no landfill on galiano. you must take any trash you create with you when you leave. making the recycling center a vital resource. after coming now for 10 years, we have it down. between recycling and composting we leave with with very little.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

well, the potato chip cookies actually improved with age. the chips regained some crisp after being stored in an airtight container for a couple days. they were actually quite tasty.

we’ve had a lot of fun with our new cookbook. the girls have each baked a cake (E: One Bowl Chocolate Cake and K: Marble Cake) and I have returned to it for this week’s cookie. these really aren’t like any macaroon I’ve ever had – I am guessing the simple addition of coconut is what gave them the name. the banana is a nice touch too, creating a very moist, yet chewy, cookie. the girls talked me into adding the chocolate chips – and banana, coconut, oatmeal, chocolate sounded good to me!

K is a huge Ivy and Bean fan and so it was the illustrations by Blackall that first caught our eye. The book tells the story of 10 year old Madeline, living on a Northern Gulf Island (connection!) and her search for her kidnapped hippy islander parents by evil foxes. I don’t want to tell too much. I highly recommend this one! I read this one aloud to K. It was so good that we had trouble putting it down. Everyone in the cottage wanted to hear what would happen next.

The story of two sisters who journey from Manitoba to a small island between Vancouver and Victoria to live with their grandmother. (How could we resist?) There is a mysterious secret as well. E really enjoyed this book. It is next on my “to read” list.

I found this there as well. We will come home to two newly rescued hens (you are a good man D) and with the final touched on our garden looming this looked like perfect inspiration. (The girls are intrigued by the section on training your chickens. Ours all come when summoned, but no tricks. Yet.)